The invention concerns a method for the continual and, in particular, the fast detection of changes of the concentration of radon gas dissolved in water by means of transfer into a measuring gas (Rn-222) which can be adopted for a diversity of monitoring, control and regulation assignments.
It concerns also a special device for the fast and continual transfer of radon gas (Rn-222) into a measuring gas and its further conveyance into detection systems for radon gas (Rn222) which are specially made for this purpose and which are commercially available.
The natural radioactive noble gas radon (Rn-222) occurs everywhere and constantly new, if and when the radium-226, formed in the decay series of uranium-238, decays. All geological materials contain uranium more or less. For this reason, radon is also omnipresent and can also be found in water in various concentrations. For the measurement-technical detection of the concentration of radon in water, there are numerous methods available with regard to the working principle which can be applied both in the field as well as in the laboratory.
The continual detection of concentrations of changes of radon occurring in water is of major interest for numerous and possible applications. However, the time-related dissolutions realised with various methods up to now have proven to be inadequate and/or unsuitable, so that the desired information was either non-available or only insufficiently available.
A representative selection of examples for the possible use are the optimisation of sample extraction from ground water measuring locations, the monitoring of radon carriage in spring water as one of several factors for earthquake research and, furthermore, the inspection of baineological applications of radon in water (quality assurance).